Incidences of drug abuse of controlled substances are of course in general so well documented and of such common knowledge that they need not be discussed further. However, what is not so well known and may be shocking to the uninitiated is the ever increasing drug abuse in hospitals and clinics involving the theft of injectable drugs. This theft is almost exclusively by staff members for their personal use to satisfy an addiction.
These injectable drugs are typically marketed in vials having a liquid-tight stopper through which a hypodermic needle may be introduced to withdraw a measured dosage from a larger quantity of liquid drug preparation contained within the vial. While these drug-containing vials are routinely kept under lock and key with only selected clinicians having authority to access the drug supply, it is nevertheless an ever increasing fact that the procedures intended to safeguard the accessibility to the drug closet are not sufficient to keep out the drug users who of course are highly motivated to support their habit.
When they do gain access, they will frequently attempt to hide the invasion of the drug supply by replenishing the stolen quantity with an aqueous solution. This compounds the seriousness of the matter since it in turn means that a patient requiring a given dosage, e.g. a narcotic to relieve pain, will in fact receive a diluted or attenuated dosage instead.
There is accordingly a great need in hospitals and clinics for tamperproof injectable pharmaceutical vials and, failing that, for tamperevident pharmaceutical vials which will provide non-reversible visible evidence of tampering by the introduction of a needle to withdraw a dosage from within.